The Fantastic Authority Of Sexual And Violen — страница 3

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karate chopping and high kicking in the air as well as at eachother (Marks, 1). Unfortunately, experimental research studies are unnecessary to experience a situation in which life imitates fiction. The headline news is an accurate source for such tragic scenarios. Serial killer, Nathaniel White, describes how he killed his first female victim after watching a television broadcast of Robocop II, I seen him cut somebody s throat then take a knife and slit down the chest to the stomach and leave the body in a certain way. With the fist person I killed I did exactly what I saw in the movie, (Levine, 31). In New York City, a grammar school child sprayed a Bronx office building with gunfire. He later explained to a sergeant that he learned how to load his Uzi-like gun because, I watch

a lot of television, (Levine, 31). A similar turn of events took place in San Francisco three days after a group of girls watched Born Innocent aired on NBC. The four girls involved sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl with a discarded beer bottle claiming they had watched the scene on television (Levine, 31). The destruction of the family hour on television has been complete and the nation is choking in the grips of television fare. Nevertheless, some of Hollywood is still not convinced of the medium s fantastic authority. Steven Bochco, creator of NYPD Blue states, when I was little, I went to the movies every week and saw violent cartoons and two or three westerns in which the entire Sioux nation was massacred by the Calvary I never had a question that what I was watching

was make believe, because I was raised by a family that gave me a moral compass (Silver, 2). The problem with his statement is that not all homes have a moral compass. American families in modern society rarely consist of mom, dad, sibling, and dog. Today, kids are likely to be products of broken homes . This family relationship whether loving or unloving, has a powerful effect on a young child s values (Wheeler, 13). Kevin Wright, a professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York confirms that children raised in supportive, affectionate, and accepting homes are less likely to become deviant. Children whom feel rejected by parents are among the most likely to become delinquent (Murray, 44). Moreover, in regards to Steven Bochco s comment, no one has claimed that

all violence is inspired by television. John Murray concurs and cites that the Social Sciences have compiled only enough evidence to conclude that violence on screen and in some other forms of the media inspires and expedites only some aggression in some children (49). Based on an analysis of 275 studies, George Comstock, S.I. Newhouse professor of Public Communication at Syracuse University, deduces that only an estimated 10% of anti social and illegal acts could be linked to the television but, wouldn t it be great if we could reduce the occurrence of violence in this nation by 10 percent? (qtd. In Silver, 4). Unfortunately, America is a capitalist society in which MONEY is the key motivator. The poignant truth is that sex and violence sell. For as long as people turn on and

watch offensive media fare; writers, directors, and producers will deliver it to them. As long as audiences believe violence and debauchery are the heart and soul of drama; it will be delivered to them. As long as the consumers and audiences are unaware of the television s authority, the medium will continue to espouse its own value-laden system. There seems to be no end in sight.Congress has pounded its fists and members of society have publicly voiced their concerns demanding changes to TV programming. The summer of 1993 is marked as an important milestone for the issue of television s violent and sexually explicit fare. For the very first time, a handful of industry leaders acknowledged that the levels of sex and violence was too high and much of what was broadcast was

inappropriate for young children (Banta, 1). A task force was organized whose initial mission was to put the broadcast and cable industry on notice; this is a serious problem that requires action on their part (Banta, 1). Also in 1993, The Federal Telecommunications Act was enacted which required the FCC to prescribe, guidelines and recommended procedures for the identification and rating of video programming that contains sexual, violent, or other indecent material (Banta, 2). However, the rating system developed by the industry in no way informed parents as to the presence of violent or sexual content with in a rated program. Basically, the rating system suggested, it may be there, but then again it may not (Banta, 2). Finally, the collaborative works of Senator Kent Conrad